Transporting an aircraft to Europe?

If you buy this ship, I will work on it and find a crew:D
cargo_ship-3.jpg
 
Never cross any body of water in a single without gliding distance. Water kills. I'm terrified to cross the inlet here, just no sense in it, it will kill you quick if you go in the drink and Lake Michigan will too. Don't cross water single engine unless you've got survival gear, you're on floats, or you've got gliding distance. Any other time, and you are an idiot. Even in warm water you're an idiot. Why? Simple, when you knock yourself out on the panel as you impact the water if you misjudge your height, or a swell hits you, you drown. I don't have the huevos for it.

I'd be really cautious crossing the atlantic because I had floats. Get caught in a storm and the swells would probably rip them right off. Not a good time.

Just ship it.

-mini
 
I'd be really cautious crossing the atlantic because I had floats. Get caught in a storm and the swells would probably rip them right off. Not a good time.

Just ship it.

-mini

True, but floats are better than nothing out there, at least you have something on the airplane that floats.
 
Never cross any body of water in a single without gliding distance. Water kills.

/SNIP/

Any other time, and you are an idiot.

/SNIP/

Even in warm water you're an idiot.

/SNIP/

I don't have the huevos for it.
It's good that you have set your personal minimums, every pilot should do the same. But, for a pilot to do what you would not does not make them an idiot.
 
That's not entirely accurate.

-mini
You're right. But I don't think SE flights across large bodies of water qualify as "Hey y'all, watch this." moments.

For that matter, neither do SE night flights across mtn terrain. That's something I always catch flak for.
 
Thanks guys for the advice. I believe that it is an old De Havilland piston twin manufactured in the 30s. He really didn't give much more info that that when he asked if I had any ideas.

It seems that the general consensus is to break it down and put it in a container. Can you even do that with such an old aircraft? Are there any businesses that specialize in this?
 
You're right. But I don't think SE flights across large bodies of water qualify as "Hey y'all, watch this." moments.

For that matter, neither do SE night flights across mtn terrain. That's something I always catch flak for.

That depends more on the pilot than the activity. Some guys like to think flying a 152 in the pattern is a "hey y'all, watch this" moment.

Personally, I think flying singles at night, or IFR (not on a flight plan, I mean stuck in the clag) or over water, or at night over the mountains is probably not the smartest thing one can do.

There are always alternatives.

-mini
 
I'm sure just about any ferry pilot you can find on google would be able to point you in the right direction.
 
It's good that you have set your personal minimums, every pilot should do the same. But, for a pilot to do what you would not does not make them an idiot.

My personal minimums are the legal minimums, no more. Don't think for a moment that I'm overly conservative about this stuff. This stuff is deadly serious, but you should be advised, there are some stuff that even I won't do. I'll fly VFR at 500' in 2mi vis, and all the other stuff our opspecs let us do, but I won't fly beyond gliding distance from the shoreline without some sort of survival gear or floats, single engine. Part 135 that's the law, but part 91 its common sense. Your goal should be to survive the aftermath of the crash. BTW, I tend to think that the term "reckless" applies to single engine operations beyond gliding distance from the shore in cold waters without survival gear.


How would F-16s ever leave North America following that advice?

I'm sure those guys have some survival gear onboard before they trip the light fantastic over the north atlantic. Still, I've seen people die in cold water like that, and that would be in the back of my mind the whole trip over there. To be honest though, it's probably cheaper to ship the SOB than fly it over, though I don't know the fuel burn.
 
You're right. But I don't think SE flights across large bodies of water qualify as "Hey y'all, watch this." moments.

For that matter, neither do SE night flights across mtn terrain. That's something I always catch flak for.

I've flown a bunch of single engine night flights over the mountains, but never (ever ever ever) through them. Be advised, as someone whose pretty familiar with operations in the hills that your options are more than slightly limited when you lose visible reference. If you do do it, you better have your #### together, by that I mean be using a GPS and be high enough on your toes enough to glide to a mountain strip if you lose a motor, and successfully and safely land. That's all I have to say about it.
 
I'm sure those guys have some survival gear onboard before they trip the light fantastic over the north atlantic. Still, I've seen people die in cold water like that, and that would be in the back of my mind the whole trip over there. To be honest though, it's probably cheaper to ship the SOB than fly it over, though I don't know the fuel burn.

1) Threre's nothing cost effective about combat aircraft.

2) The effect of taking a whole squadron of combat aircraft, pickling them up, and putting them on a ship for a month while they cross the Atlantic would cripple any war effort from an airpower perspective. Remember, that while one squadron is fighting the war, the replacement one is training...and at some point in time they have to swap over. If that process took two months on either end, we would have serious gaps in our capabilities.

The point of this is that there are people who go out and do exactly what you said only an "idiot" would do every day.

You probably don't think it's smart to fly formation at night, either. Or, have six aircraft in close formation in complete IMC. Or air-to-air refuel with both aircraft darked out at night. Or land on an unlit runway at night. Your bubble of what is "safe" and "smart" is different than what some other pilots have developed with their experience.
 
Everything is risk management. Here in Arkansas we have a lot of places that from 3500 AGL you have no where to go. Fixed gear into water is safer than these areas.

What you are used to and equipped and trained for, equipment and condition and on and on and on.

Used to patrol out into the gulf in C-150's back when they were all straight tail fast backs at 50-100 AWL (above water level :D ) or lower if we were playing around.

All about risk management. Personal limits...

What RICHARD5 said.
 
Also, in 1972 I flew a 260 Comanche with 4 of us to Beef Island in the British Virgin's and back. Not a moment of automatic 'rough' the whole trip.

We had a plan, life vests, passports in water tights around our necks and filed a flight plan.

Always have a plan. When things go wrong is not the time to start planning.

YMMV
 
1) Threre's nothing cost effective about combat aircraft.

2) The effect of taking a whole squadron of combat aircraft, pickling them up, and putting them on a ship for a month while they cross the Atlantic would cripple any war effort from an airpower perspective. Remember, that while one squadron is fighting the war, the replacement one is training...and at some point in time they have to swap over. If that process took two months on either end, we would have serious gaps in our capabilities.

The point of this is that there are people who go out and do exactly what you said only an "idiot" would do every day.

You probably don't think it's smart to fly formation at night, either. Or, have six aircraft in close formation in complete IMC. Or air-to-air refuel with both aircraft darked out at night. Or land on an unlit runway at night. Your bubble of what is "safe" and "smart" is different than what some other pilots have developed with their experience.

The difference between the F-16 fighter jock and a random dude with his multi commercial and instrument is the training. You've been trained to do that, have procedures for doing that, presumeably have NVGs, or equipment that allows operations of that sort to be safe relatively speaking. Without that, and such equipment, I still stand by my statement that only an idiot would do it. Equipment is the difference in this, and training. Anything is safe and smart provided the equipment and training is adequate, we're arguing semantics here.
 
Without that, and such equipment, I still stand by my statement that only an idiot would do it. Equipment is the difference in this, and training. Anything is safe and smart provided the equipment and training is adequate, we're arguing semantics here.

While I agree...that is not what your original post said.

Never cross any body of water in a single without gliding distance.
 
While I agree...that is not what your original post said.


Actually a little further down in my post, "Don't cross water single engine unless you've got survival gear, you're on floats, or you've got gliding distance." Perhaps my first statement was to general, but clarified a little bit further on.
 
Thanks guys for the advice. I believe that it is an old De Havilland piston twin manufactured in the 30s. He really didn't give much more info that that when he asked if I had any ideas.

It seems that the general consensus is to break it down and put it in a container. Can you even do that with such an old aircraft? Are there any businesses that specialize in this?

You are possibly talking about a De Havilland Rapide powered by a six cylinder Gipsy of around 200HP per side and fixed pitched props. Here is an example of one based at Dauster Field, Creve Coeur, Missouri (an absolute MECCA for neat airplanes. They bought both my Grandpa's Waco's after his death). This is not an airplane I would want to fly across the North Atlantic, but a neat airplane. I can't think about any other neat twin De Havilland's that are in the states other than a replica Comet (a DH 88, not the passenger Comet from the 50's) in California or a Mosquito (not sure if any are flyable here in the states):

Rapide.jpg
 
Back
Top